


Playing Dirty

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Exhaustion, M/M, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25051855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Sometimes Magnus finds it difficult to let others know that he's not as fine as he pretends to be
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 23
Kudos: 247





	Playing Dirty

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am not dead! I just haven't really had the energy to write lately. Here's something short and sweet-ish that I wrote the other week and finally edited today!

Alec watched Magnus move around the loft from the armchair he was sitting on. His leg still ached but the pain was getting duller and duller by the minute. This was not the first time he had broken a bone in his leg and healed it with an iratze, so from previous experience, he knew that the leg would be completely healed in a couple of hours. He just had to take it easy for now.

That was the case for the majority of their small group that was currently in the living room of Magnus’ loft.

They had been destroying a demon nest when one of the injured demons had hit a tank of highly explosive liquid. The force of the explosion had thrown the Shadowhunters against nearby walls or on the concrete ground and it had resulted in a lot of broken bones. Those could all be dealt with using iratzes and by giving their bodies time to rest, but they had needed Magnus’ help with Clary’s injuries. She had been thrown into what looked to be a pile of metal waste and had sustained more serious injuries. 

Magnus wasn’t injured since he had been able to throw up a magic shield that protected him from the explosion, and as soon as they had noticed that the explosion had gotten rid of the rest of the demons and that all the Shadowhunters were hurt, Magnus had created a portal and they had all made their way to the loft where they had laid Clary down and Magnus had started to heal her while the others applied iratzes for their scrapes, bruises, and broken bones.

That was over an hour ago, and it had been well over half an hour since Magnus finished healing Clary, but Alec had not seen the warlock sit down even once. It was obvious that the healing and the prior fighting had taken their toll on him. It was clear by the sweat on his forehead and Alec could see that his actions weren’t as graceful as they normally were. During the healing, Alec had offered his strength to him, remembering how exhausted Magnus had been the last time he healed someone, but his boyfriend had refused his help, saying that Alec’s body needed the energy to heal itself.

Alec had tried to argue, but Magnus had assured that he would be fine.

Alec had to admit that Magnus wasn’t as exhausted as he had been when he healed Luke, he was still walking around the apartment making sure the others were comfortable, but Alec feared he would get there if he continued to fret.

“Magnus,” Alec said, capturing Magnus’ attention immediately. Magnus walked closer, a concerned frown on his face.

“Yes?” He asked. 

“You need to rest,” Alec said, his tone gentle.

“I’m fine,” Magnus said, brushing Alec’s concern off as he walked away. It was a clear sign that he didn't want to keep talking about it. “Who wants some tea?”

Magnus didn’t even wait for anyone to answer before he disappeared into the kitchen. Alec watched him go with a frown on his face. It only proved how exhausted Magnus was when he didn’t use his powers to summon the tea, but rather chose to make it the mundane way.

With Magnus out of the room, Alec focused on his siblings and Clary.

Isabelle was sitting on an armchair similar to the one he was sitting on, cradling her broken arm close to her chest. She’d also broken a few of her ribs, and the side of her face had been badly scraped. Now the skin on the face was completely healed, and Alec assumed the bones were in a similar state to Alec’s own, slowly healing.

Jace was sitting by Clary’s feet, where Clary was resting on Magnus’ couch. She was asleep right now, but Jace used the hand that hadn’t been injured to brush her hair out of her forehead. Jace looked okay, but the occasional grimace he did when he shifted gave a hint of the pain that still lingered.

Alec’s attention was turned away from the couch by a crash. He turned his head towards the sound and noticed that Magnus had dropped the tray of tea he had been carrying.

“How clumsy of me,” Magnus said, his tone light as he added a short laugh to the end. “Oh well, better clean it up before it stains the carpet. This carpet is one of my favorites, and it was incredibly expensive.”

He waved his hand and the mess was gone, but Alec focused more on how Magnus had to lean on the nearby table for support after the small act of magic.

“Magnus-” 

“I’m fine,” Magnus brushed him off for the second time. He was smiling but Alec could see right through that smile. It looked like Magnus was doing his best to appear okay but if Alec didn’t make him rest soon he was going to collapse.

It was time to play dirty.

“Magnus I need your help,” Alec said and as he’d predicted, that got Magnus’ attention immediately.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, rushing to Alec’s side.

“Can we talk somewhere private?” Alec asked and stood up, not waiting for Magnus’ reply before he started limping towards Magnus’ bedroom. Alec could hear Magnus following quickly behind him.

“Are you sure you should walk?” Magnus asked once they reached the room.

“It’s almost healed,” Alec replied and turned to face his boyfriend. He felt bad for the frown he had put on Magnus’ face but he didn’t feel like he had any other choice if he wanted to make Magnus rest.

“Then how can I help?” Magnus asked. “What do you need?”

“I need-” Alec started and placed his hands on Magnus’ shoulders, turning him so he was the one with his back to the bed that was still unmade from how quickly they’d had to leave it earlier today when Alec got the call that he was needed on a mission and Magnus had agreed to join them. “I need you to rest.”

He punctuated his words by pushing on Magnus’ shoulders gently, so his boyfriend sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“I don’t need to rest,” Magnus tried to argue, but his actions spoke the opposite. He didn’t resist when Alec bent down to take off his shoes after which he helped Magnus out of his jacket. Then he did quick work on his own boots and jacket.

“Lay with me,” Alec said, guiding Magnus to lay down on the bed, smiling lightly when Magnus let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes. “Just for a moment. Nothing is going to go wrong in the meantime. Everyone else is resting too. No matter how much you try to deny it, I know you need some rest as well.”

Alec climbed into the bed and moved so he was close to Magnus, who closed the remaining distance and cuddled close, hiding his face against Alec’s chest. Alec was happy to see that he was too tired to resist the temptation now that he’d gotten him this far.

“You’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn and you are incredibly powerful,” Alec said, wanting Magnus to know that he knew how much it took for him to be this exhausted. “But you’ve also done a lot today. It’s okay to be exhausted. Thank you for taking such good care of everyone, we really appreciate it.”

Magnus mumbled something Alec didn’t quite catch.

“What was it?”

“They are your family,” Magnus said, moving his face a bit further away from Alec’s chest for the moment. “Wanted to help.”

“And I love you for it,” Alec said, holding Magnus closer and kissing the top of his head. “Now rest. Everything will be okay. And I will be here when you wake up.”

“Love you too,” Magnus mumbled and it didn’t take long until Alec could hear his breaths even out as he fell asleep. Content to see his boyfriend finally resting, it didn’t take long for Alec to follow.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> You can find me from [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


End file.
